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Area: The new Windows Scoreboard is about a block or two further east on Huaihai Lu, down from the old Windows Scoreboard. It's on the 11th floor of an office space / restaurant building, right across the street from the Barbie Citadel. The building is back from the road a bit -- you'll see a bright Lawson's sign, and to the left of that is a life-size cardboard cut-out of soccer player, David Beckningham and the Windows sign, flashing with iconic brilliance and symbolic weightiness in the Shanghai night.

Cross street is Chengdu Lu. Also in walking distance is Fuxing Park and all the fine establishments located therein. It's also right near the new M2, incidentally.

What it is: It's Windows Scoreboard in a much bigger space, a much nicer view, and a much better sound system. The new Scoreboard sits 250 comfortably (vs. the old one which was 150 seats), but at their limit, they could accommodate up to 400 people. It's large. And in charge. The elevator doors open up into a huge hall of a room with main, non-smoking bar table seating taking up the majority of the space, and a smoking section ringing the outside. The smoking tables on either side of the main area offer up some great views of Shanghai -- Fuxing Park to the south, in a closed in terrace, and People's Square to the north. The views are actually quite nice and something of a selling point I would think. This Windows actually has some windows.

You know the other selling points: cheap booze; bar games (one pool table with another on the way, 2 dart boards, a foosball table, a beer pong table, shuffleboard coming soon); cheap food; rock music on the stereo. Good times.

When their rental contract came up at the old space and they moved, it wasn't due to a lack of business -- the formula was working -- so this new bar is basically Windows management showing fidelity to what was working before and trying to recreate it in a new and larger space. What else do you need to know? It's Windows, man -- good place to go with a big group of friends to sit around a big table; good to go for cheap drinks; good for a few beers and pool on a week night; good for broke couples; good for pre-drinking before going somewhere else; good if you don't like clubs but like alcohol; good if you want to go on an over-night drunk for cheap.

They've also got the sports on -- ten TVs in total, with proper size and positioning, and they plan to make it even more sports friendly in the future. Despite the name, I never really thought of Windows as a 'sports bar' per se, but they're planning on making it World Cup-friendly, bringing in more TVs and a large screen for a projector during the upswing in World Cup business. Given the sheer size of the room, I would think it would be quite the World Cup gathering if they packed it out. They're planning some special World Cup-related events and specials, so check back on events on SmartShanghai later for that.

What else. Same menu and prices. Same drinks menus and drink prices, with a few more bottled beers added on to that, and Tiger, Stella, and Bud on draft. Cheap Wild Turkey.

This Windows is now the home of the rock-music and sports, Windows Too will apparently switch back to hip hop, and Windows Underground will remain... Windows Underground.

Atmosphere: Brick and wood. Brick and wood and cheerleaders and football players painted on the walls. TVs, those beer bottle lamps, wood tables. It's the Windows aesthetic. This Windows is larger and roomier though, and there is more room to accommodate larger parties. One of the key atmospheric points is the strictly enforced non-smoking section of the bar, which accounts for half the seating. If you're sick of all the smoke in Shanghai bars, that one's for you. And if you're a smoker, be respectful of the policy, as bouncer Danny will be walking around the place with a baseball bat.